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Aikibatto: Sword Exercises for Aikido Students
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Product Description
Book Description
Aikibatto is a system of sword and staff exercises for aikido students, as well as for anyone interested in the Japanese martial arts. This book presents the basics and principles of the sophisticated sword arts developed by the Japanese warrior aristocracy, the samurai. Although the aikibatto exercises are primarily developed for aikido students, they contain much of the normal curriculum of traditional iaido and kenjutsu. Anyone interested in the arts of the katana, the formidable Japanese sword, will find much of value in this book. Stefan Stenudd is a 6 dan Aikikai Swedish aikido instructor, member of the Swedish Aikikai Grading Committee, the Swedish Budo Federation Board, and the International Aikido Federation Directing Committee. He has studied aikido and iaido since the early 1970's. He is also a writer of both fiction and non-fiction.
About the Author
Stefan Stenudd is a Swedish author, historian of ideas, artist, and instructor in the peaceful martial art aikido. He has published a number of books in Sweden, both fiction and non-fiction. Among the latter is an interpretation of the Chinese classic Tao Te Ching, and of the Japanese samurai classic Go Rin no Sho by Miyamoto Musashi. His novels explore existential subjects from stoneage drama to science fiction, but lately stay more and more focused on the present. He has also written some plays for the stage and the screen. As a historian of ideas he studies the thought patterns of creation myths, as well as Aristotle's Poetics.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I purchased this book because I was interested to see what it ahd to offer.
The book itself did not disappoint me and I found myself going back to it as a point of reference. An excellent purchase.
The book itself did not disappoint me and I found myself going back to it as a point of reference. An excellent purchase.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4 reviews
16 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Simple but efficient tool for practicing sword basics
29 July 2008
Format:Paperback
Sword practice is a great tool for all budoka to advance, to get more precise, more sharp in his art. Aikibatto, brought to life by Stefan Stenudd, is a set of simple practices for both self and pair practice, which covers elementary moves, attacks, and other parts of sword work. Author, who served also as chairman of Swedish kendo, studied the sword with Ichimura Toshikazu and Nishio Shoji, which makes the book even more trustworthy.
12 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Overall Good Quality
3 Jun 2009
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Good basic sword book that covers a lot of beginner ground and is well illustrated in b/w. Typical of books like this, a lot of transition motion is missing between the images which may be a problem for some. Book presents a series of bokken and jo techniques, all rather basic but good quality instruction none the less.
As I often do, I take issue with Stenudd's method of breathing, which cover a whole 2.5 pages but deserve significantly more. In fact, if more teachers actually knew how to breath and if practitioners spent more time training breath, skills would improve radically. The author describes controlling the breath with the abdomen. In a sense this is correct, but not as he describes it.
The author says, "Most budo techniques are done with exhalation, where you are the strongest." Really? That's like saying I only punch with my right hand even though I have 2, because my right is strongest. That's very limited. A stronger approach is to synchronize the breath with rising and falling and be able to flow both with Qi and the cut.
For example, using Tachi Iaido Kesagiri Bunki, or any type of say draw that employs a rising diagonal cut, done correctly an inhalation is stronger than blowing all your energy out, and, it sets up a fast second downward strike with the exhale. However this author tells me to "forget my inhales and only focus on exhales". Kind of like only focus yang and ignore yin; its just wrong.
He then tells me to "extend exhales and let inhalations be done by body reflex that will be short and sufficient." Again this is wrong. If breath is not even, smooth and rhythmic, the body gets out of sync and heavy breathing is the result. Very poor technique, but Stenudd says, "this decreases the risk of getting out of breath". No, it doesn't.
I think this is the most important training in the whole book, and unfortunately it is both too short, and incorrect. Leaving the breath aside, if you can, the rest of the book is rather good for what it is.
As I often do, I take issue with Stenudd's method of breathing, which cover a whole 2.5 pages but deserve significantly more. In fact, if more teachers actually knew how to breath and if practitioners spent more time training breath, skills would improve radically. The author describes controlling the breath with the abdomen. In a sense this is correct, but not as he describes it.
The author says, "Most budo techniques are done with exhalation, where you are the strongest." Really? That's like saying I only punch with my right hand even though I have 2, because my right is strongest. That's very limited. A stronger approach is to synchronize the breath with rising and falling and be able to flow both with Qi and the cut.
For example, using Tachi Iaido Kesagiri Bunki, or any type of say draw that employs a rising diagonal cut, done correctly an inhalation is stronger than blowing all your energy out, and, it sets up a fast second downward strike with the exhale. However this author tells me to "forget my inhales and only focus on exhales". Kind of like only focus yang and ignore yin; its just wrong.
He then tells me to "extend exhales and let inhalations be done by body reflex that will be short and sufficient." Again this is wrong. If breath is not even, smooth and rhythmic, the body gets out of sync and heavy breathing is the result. Very poor technique, but Stenudd says, "this decreases the risk of getting out of breath". No, it doesn't.
I think this is the most important training in the whole book, and unfortunately it is both too short, and incorrect. Leaving the breath aside, if you can, the rest of the book is rather good for what it is.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Creative...
23 Aug 2010
Format:Paperback
I've been a student of aikido and Toyama Ryu Iaido for over 6 years, almost as soon as I had seen this book offered I bought it thinking it would be a valuable training resource. I was unfortunately very mistaken in the hasty decision.
I found this book to be rather shallow and uninsightful, instead of exercises the reader is presented with a new set of kata. This would be great for someone in an aikido school where the sword is de-emphasised, however I did not appreciate being mislead.
If you're looking for sword drills, look up Suino, if you're looking for aikido, the Ueshiba books are great, as are Shioda-sensei's. This unfortunately was a waste of time and money.
I found this book to be rather shallow and uninsightful, instead of exercises the reader is presented with a new set of kata. This would be great for someone in an aikido school where the sword is de-emphasised, however I did not appreciate being mislead.
If you're looking for sword drills, look up Suino, if you're looking for aikido, the Ueshiba books are great, as are Shioda-sensei's. This unfortunately was a waste of time and money.
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